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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. fork — in a road
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. plane — a tool
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. capital — money
  7. capital — a city
  8. last — final
  9. last — finally
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. last — to go on
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. content — the amount
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. deal — to handle
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. band — a ring
  20. fine — high quality
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. band — a music group
  23. fine — all right
  24. fork — to eat with

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com